Characteristics of late-nineteenth-century British railways: the Great Western Railway

J. Peabody Pattinson (1893)

[The following passages are excerpted from Pattinson's late-nineteenth-century book on British passenger railways. — George P. Landow.]

Of the more recent Great Western locomotives it may be said
that they are, in general design, of very striking appearance. There
is at present no other company so lavish in the display of the
brighter metals in the exterior fittings of boiler, framework, etc., to
which we were accustomed on almost every line in bygone days,
but which in these times does not seem to find favour on other
railways.

General Description of the Line

This is much the longest of the English systems, and has a most
formidable array of main lines and branches, extending in the
aggregate to nearly 1,900 miles. The other large companies are, as
a rule, content with one main line; the Great Western has no fewer
than three, all converging to its terminus at Paddington (image). The oldest,
though perhaps not the most important, of these except in so far
that it gives the company its name is the route from London
through Swindon, Bath, Bristol, and Taunton, to Exeter, on to
Plymouth, and beyond that to Truro and Penzance. This is the
longest stretch of main line in the kingdom, the distance from
Paddington to Penzance being 326 ½ miles; whereas from London
to Carlisle via Nottingham, Sheffield, and Leeds by the Midland
route is only 316 ¾, and the length of the Highland main line from
Perth to Wick only 305 ¼ miles. Besides this distinction, it has
another, and that, too, a most interesting one. The whole of the
above distance was, until May, 1892, laid with a gauge of 7 feet,
although excepting on the extreme westerly portion an extra rail
for narrow-gauge (4 ft. 8 ½ in.) traffic requirements was inserted
between the broad-gauge metals. It would be beside our purpose to
enter into the prolonged controversy which in the infancy of the
railway system was carried on with such enthusiastic warmth by the
respective partisans of the broad and narrow gauges. . . .

The principal branches diverging from this main route are :
On the south, from Slough to Windsor; Reading to Basingstoke;
Reading via Hungerford and Devizes to Bath; Chippenham via
Westbury to Salisbury, and vid. Frome and Yeovil to Weymouth,
from which port the company have of late years established an
excellent service to the Channel Islands in competition with the
South- Western; from Yatton to Wells; from Newton Abbott to
Torquay and Dartmouth; and from Truro to Falmouth. On the
north the chief offshoots are from Maidenhead to Oxford via
Thame; Yatton to Clevedon; Puxton to Weston-super-Mare, a rising
watering-place; Taunton to Minehead, for Lynton and the picturesque
North Devonshire coast; and from Taunton to Barnstaple and
Ilfracombe via Dulverton. Besides these, there are many other
branches of secondary importance, which it is scarcely necessary to
mention here.

The second main route of the Great Western is that deflecting
from the line we have just described at Swmdon, and proceeding up
the Stroud valley to Gloucester, thence trending south-west and west
through Newport, Cardiff, Neath, Llanelly, and Carmarthen Junction
to New Milford. Much of the traffic, however, between South
Wales and London is conducted through the famous Severn Tunnel,
and by this route trains continue along the first of our main routes,
through Bath and Bristol (Stapleton Road), dive below the Severn,
and emerge at Severn Tunnel Junction, nearly ten miles east of
Newport. On this main line there are several branches, but scarcely
any of the first importance, generally being of more account from a
mineral than from a passenger-traffic point of view. Of greater
consequence, however, are those from Newport to Pontypool Road,
with the deflecting portions going north and east to Hereford, and by
way of Malvern to Worcester, and going west through Merthyr and
Neath to Swansea; and the line between Gloucester and Hereford
David Ross.

Left: Early London Railways. (The Great Western track appears at the left of the diagram.) Right: Paddington Station in 1874. [Click on images to enlarge them.]

Our third main line is the most valuable of all. It leaves the
Exeter route at Didcot, and runs north through Oxford, Leamington,
and Warwick to Birmingham. From this important centre it
continues northwards past the thickly-studded towns of the Black
Country and Shrewsbury, runs through the far-famed vale of
Llangollen, touches Chester, and finally reaches Birkenhead. Few
main lines of similar length have so many populous or interesting
places on their route. The branches are numerous, and generally
leave the main line on the west From Oxford a line runs to
Chipping Norton Junction, at which point one line goes west to
Cheltenham, and another north to Worcester, and then along the
Severn Valley line past Bridgnorth to Shrewsbury, there joining
the direct route vid Birmingham. The other branches of
importance are: Warwick to Stratford-on-Avon; Birmingham and
Wolverhampton, via Stourbridge, Kidderminster, and Droitwich, to
Worcester, there connecting with lines to the west and south;
Wellington to Market Drayton, and over the North-Westem to
Crewe thus securing a ready means of access to Manchester;
Ruabon to Bala and Dolgelly, through the delightful scenery of
Wales. Besides these, there are others of less consequence, and
numerous small offshoots in the Birmingham district, which form
a local network. The company are also joint owners with the
London and North-Western Railway of certain lines in Wales,
over which a through service of expresses runs between Manchester,
Liverpool, and the north, and Bristol and the south-west.

Travelling Facilities

Services between Chief Towns. There is such a large
number of important towns on the Great Western that perhaps
the most concise method of treating the services thereto will be
as shown in the concluding table of this section. In discussing the
distinguishing features of the three main routes described above,
we find that the first has excellent express services; the second,
distinctly poor; and the third, tolerably good. Along or adjacent
to the first route we have such populous centres or thriving ports
as Reading, Bath, Bristol, Weymouth, Taunton, Exeter, and
Plymouth. In the annexed summary will be found a succinct
view of the facilities afforded by the company to these places.
Until two or three years ago this service to the west and south-
west was the reverse of creditable, but with the establishment of
the 10.15 a.m. down and 7.50 p.m. up, and the removal of third-
class restrictions from the two up and down 4^hours Exeter
expresses, a marked improvement took place. The popular seaside
resorts of Weston, Ilfracombe, Torquay, and the South Devon coast
generally, are made readily accessible by these convenient trains.
Weston is now within some 3^ hours from London (137} miles) by the
fastest train; Ilfracombe (232 J miles) is just over 6 J- hours away;
and Torquay (220 miles) 5 hours. Thus, considering their distance
from London, these health resorts are by no means badly treated.
The service to Plymouth also is a really excellent one, bearing in
mind that the Plymouth trains are run for Plymouth alone, there
being further west no towns of any importance all the way to that
Ultima Thule, Penzance, and this also is still within the reasonable
time of 9 hours from Paddington, although in 1891 it could be
reached in 8 hours 40 minutes. . . .

The second route is that to South Wales, and, unfortunately for
the inhabitants of the southern half of the Principality, it is their
only means of access to London. For a long time they were even
more neglected than now, and it was not until the opening of the
Severn Tunnel that the Great Western thought fit to give these rich
mineral districts an express service at all. Undoubtedly, very much
greater facilities might be granted, but, there being no competition
from London, it seems unlikely that the Paddington management,
which is in many respects most conservative, will bestir itself
just at present. . . .

Things are a good deal less sluggish on the third main line, that
to Birmingham and the North. Since 1890 several really creditable
trains have been added, and it is only the most northern points, such
as Chester and Birkenhead, which are left out of consideration.
Cheltenham, however, which is reached via Chipping Norton Junction,
is very badly treated indeed.

Looked at as a whole, the Great Western has a higher reputation
for speed with most travellers than it is actually entitled to. Its
great faults are the bad treatment accorded to South Wales, and
its generally indifferent arrangements for cross-country traffic. In
punctuality the line occupies a fairly good place, though the pressure
of exceptional traffic throws the company's discipline out of gear,
and there is an absence of that strenuous striving after punctuality
which characterises the Great Northern and the North Western.
. . . .
Like most other railways, the Great Western follows a beaten
path with its local services. There is no very heavy suburban traffic
near London what there is runs punctually and frequently enough.
On the numerous lines in the company's extensive district fair
punctuality is observed, and doubtless local interests (the importance
of which or otherwise we have not attempted to estimate) are duly
attended to. The services on some are, perhaps, more or less
cramped by single -line working a large portion of the Great
Western system being single line.

Rolling Stock and General Accommodation

As
regards passenger rolling stock, the Great Western takes rank with the
best of English railways. On the main routes, in the London suburban
district, and on the principal branches, the carriages are most
comfortable, being well cushioned and roomy, and it is only on the
less important of the company's lines that we find any really bad
coaches. The stock running in the fastest trains compares well
with the finest owned by any other railway even the third-class
compartments being frequently decorated with photographs of the
"beauty spots" on the system. A "Corridor" train has recently
been built to run on the Birmingham and Birkenhead line, providing
excellent accommodation for all three classes. Most of the main
line stock on the Great Western is mounted on eight-wheel bogie
trucks, and many of the carriages have the clerestory roof, which,
although not favourably regarded by some carriage designers,
certainly increases the internal dimensions of the compartment, and
gives it a more airy appearance. Gas is being rapidly introduced
for the lighting of the carriages.

In other departments also the company merit considerable praise.
The line is well signalled throughout, and the brake used is the
Automatic Vacuum. The station accommodation on the line is good,
and some of the roadside stations near London are models of their
kind, many of them being tastefully laid out and decorated with
flower-beds.

Locomotives, speed, gradients, and actual performance

(a) Speed. The greater proportion of the very considerable and
highly creditable booked train speeds on the Great Western is
concentrated on a comparatively small section of this vast system
namely, from London to Exeter, and from Didcot to Birmingham.
Elsewhere, on such lines as the South Wales sections, the connections
between Bristol and the North via the Severn Tunnel, the line to
from Birmingham northwards, the Weymouth section, and on
many other parts of the system where an express service is demanded
to a greater or less extent, the speed is not by any means high, being
generally nearer 40 miles an hour than 45.

(b) Gradients. The Great Western has on the whole an easy
track. From Paddington to Bristol the line is nearly level, there
being an almost imperceptible rise from London to Swindon, and
beyond the worst gradients being 1 in 660 west of Reading, and
1 in 1,320 east of it. After Swindon we have two short but steep
descents, 1 in 100, of two miles length each, from Wootton Bassett
to Dauntsey, and through the Box Tunnel From Bristol to
Exeter the line is again almost level, the only exceptions being a
rise and fall between Bristol and Nailsea, and between Wellington
and Tiverton Junction. Below Exeter the character of the road
changes altogether, curves and gradients are very severe, there being
several miles of 1 in 40; while between Plymouth and Penzance
matters are still worse. These two last-mentioned sections, however,
do not much concern us, as there is but little express work thereon
and the same may be said of that portion of the Great Western
second main line which lies west of Cardiff, which has some very
severe short stretches. The third main line is almost level to
Birmingham, with the exception of the Hatton bank (four miles of
1 in 107). North of the hardware centre there are frequent but
very short stretches of 1 in 100, and near Wrexham there are four
miles of 1 in 82. This, therefore, is a moderately hard section to
work.

Among other important parts of the system may be mentioned
the Severn Tunnel line and the route to South Wales via Stroud and
Gloucester. On the first of these there are several stiff grades
(1 in 80), and the Bristol-North expresses have some hard ground
to run over. The Gloucester line is rendered difficult by the
well-known Brimscombe bank, which ascends steeply on each side
of the tunnel near Stroud.

(c) Locomotives, Until May, 1892, the Great Western locomotives were naturally classed as broad- and narrow-gauge.
For the broad-gauge expresses the company used the well-known
"Lord of the Isles" type, introduced so far back as 1846. There
were about 30 of these in use, and the principal dimensions are
given below in parallel columns, together with those of some of
the latest varieties for use on the narrow gauge, including the new
7-ft 8-in. singles, which have supplanted the broad-gauge type in
express work. These broad-gauge singles were, of course, not used
on the severe routes in the south-west, saddle-tank bogie engines
with 5 ft. 9 in. wheels and 17 in. by 24 in. cylinders taking their
place.

Before the abolition of the broad gauge the narrow-gauge
expresses were chiefly worked by 7-ft. "singles," with cylinders
18 in. by 24 in., and this class is still extensively used, and gives the
very best results. Some of the finest work in England, generally
with heavy trains, has been done by them. . . .
Of the more recent Great Western locomotives it may be said
that they are, in general design, of very striking appearance. There
is at present no other company so lavish in the display of the
brighter metals in the exterior fittings of boiler, framework, etc., to
which we were accustomed on almost every line in bygone days,
but which in these times does not seem to find favour on other
railways. As in the case of the Great Northern, with its slightly more
difficult main-line gradients, the single type of engine is that in
general use for the fastest trains, and the new 3,000 class in several
respects bears a resemblance to the 7-ft. 6-in. singles of recent
Doncaster build. Following the old broad-gauge practice, the newer
engines seem likely to be more widely known by their name-plate
than their number. Their colours are a dark shade of green above
and on wheels, with chocolate-brown for wheel-casing and framing.
The brake in use is the Automatic Vacuum.

(d) Actual Performances. The
7 ft single is the only narrow-gauge type that has established for
itself any great reputation for excellent work on the Great Western.
This class is seen to best advantage on the 4.45 p.m. and other
expresses from Paddington to Birmingham and Birkenhead. Many
of the trains hauled by them are extremely heavy, and the writer
knows of a case in which Oxford was reached in 72 minutes after
leaving London (63 ½ miles), with a load of 16 coaches. Mr. Rous-Marten mentions an instance, as showing the work done on rising
grades by an engine of this type, of ascending the Hatton bank (four
miles of 1 in 107) with 145 tons in 5 minutes.

On the old broad gauge the work done was creditable, though not
remarkably brilliant. Time was frequently lost on the fast run
from London to Swindon (87 minutes), this being due to the comparatively low tractive force of the broad-gauge "singles." On the
return journey, with the road in favour of the train, the booked speed
was almost always improved upon, even with the heaviest loads. In
fact, the distance has frequently been done in 77 minutes, and once
in 76, and it was an everyday occurrence to cover it in 82 to 85
minutes, even with loads equal to 15 or 16 coaches. On up grades,
however, the 8 ft singles were rather at a discount, though the work
done, considering the dimensions of the class, cannot be called bad
by any means. . . .

The Great Western has, in its time, made many record performances. In
the palmy days of the broad gauge, when the "Dutchman"
was timed to leave Didcot 57 minutes after setting out from
Paddington, there used to be some fine running. On one occasion
the distance of 53 ½ miles was covered in 47 minutes. This is
probably the fastest start-to-stop run ever recorded, but, considering
that the load of the train was extremely light, careful observers will
rank it below many recent well-attested performances on other lines.

Bibliography

Pattinson, J. Peabody. British Railways: Their Passenger Service, Rolling Stock, Locomotives, Gradients, and Express Speeds. London: Cassell, 1893.
Internet Archive version of a copy in the Stanford University library. Web. 26 January 2013.